Dear family,
This is actually a
wonderful time to bring this up since you are all together having a reunion. I
need some stories of my ancestors, both on my mom and dad's side. Could you
send me stories of my great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents? I want
to be able to show investigators my family history so I could get them excited
about doing it. We recently had a training in our mission about the importance
of family history in God's plan and how to use it in our finding efforts. It's
one way that we can find those people who are prepared to receive the restored
gospel. I just used it recently in our community service. We went to a food
bank supply warehouse called Northwest Harvest. We get to go there every other
week. I met a man named “L”. He started talking to me about his family. His
great grandfather founded a church in Oregon! I asked him why his ancestors
came over to the Northwest. He didn't know. I invited him to look up FamilySearch
and he accepted a family history pass-along card! What a cool experience.
We lost contact with “S
B”. Therefore, she was unable to attend church this week. We tried calling the “H”
family, but no one answered. They didn't show up for church. Brother “S” had
some engine troubles, so he couldn't make it either. But we had a miracle
happen. An African family of seven sat in the foyer of the church building in
between the first and second hour of church. No one knew who they were! We
introduced ourselves and asked where they were from. Right now, they are
staying in a Howard Johnson hotel in Kent while they are searching for a home.
They told us they speak a language called Nuer. Unfortunately there are no Book
of Mormon translations in that particular language. But I think Elder Holden
and I will begin teaching an English class. As for now, the mother and kids
speak English well enough. We set up a lesson with them at the church building
Thursday night at seven. Next time, the husband will be there, so there will be
eight in total.
The barbecue with the “P”s
was wonderful. It was more like a block party! Sister “P” invited all of her
neighbors. There were two couples. One couple had two teenage girls. “M” and
her son came and so did the “T”s and the Ramsay's-- active members. It went
well. We were unable to set up a time to teach “S” and “M”, but we'll follow up
with Sister “P” later. It was super funny because yesterday it sprinkled a
little bit on our picnic. It was the first time it rained in a couple of weeks!
Very unusual for the Northwest.
I hope all is going
well and you enjoy the reunion. Thanks for sending those pictures. It's great
to see your faces. I love you all very much. Have a blessed week.
Love,
Elder Herbert